Countries, governments, and organizations devise constitutions to reflect their visions of governance and rules for their leaders. They vary considerably in both formats and consequences. Disputes over constitutions can lead to fights, contests, debates, and more. Vincent Ostrom is one of America's leading scholars on constitutions and has spent a lifetime researching, analyzing, and writing about constitutions in America and overseas. He provides methods to judge and to implement constitutions as citizens struggle with their formulation. In this book, scholars from around the world add to this intellectual quest of massive scholarly and practical importance. Using the research and methodology pioneered by Ostrom, they identify and analyze the criteria for successful constitutions in both theory and practice.« lessmore »

Barbara Allen is professor, former chair of the Department of Political Science, and former Director of Women's Studies at Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota.Filippo Sabetti is professor of political science at McGill University.Mark Sproule-Jones is V.K. Copps Professor of political science at McMaster University in Canada.

Chapter 1 Table of ContentsChapter 2 List of ContributorsPart 3 I IntroductionChapter 4 1 Normative and Empirical Inquiries into Systems of GovernanceChapter 5 2 Constitutional Foundations for a Th eory of System ComparisonsPart 6 II Foundations for a Normative Assessment of GovernanceChapter 7 3 Th e Normative and Limiting Conditions in a Polycentric Political OrderChapter 8 4 Legal Pluralism, Polycentricity, and Faith-Based Organizations in Global GovernanceChapter 9 5 Challenges to Interreligious Liberative Collective Action between Muslims and ChristiansChapter 10 6 Democratization without Violence: Can Political Order be Achieved through Peaceful Means?Chapter 11 7 Th e Man Who Heated Up Economic Discussion with a Stove: Walter Eucken's Method of Institutional DesignPart 12 III Struggles for Polycentric Governance in Diverse ContinentsChapter 13 8 Malawi's Lake Chiuta Fisheries: Intelligent Burden-Shedding to Foster Renewable Resources StewardshipChapter 14 9 From the Cheyenne Way to the Chilean Way (of Political Reconciliation and Impunity): A Retrospective on Political Architecture, Political Culture, and Institutional DesignChapter 15 10 Challenges Facing “State” Building in BurmaChapter 16 11 American Experience in Metropolitan GovernanceChapter 17 IndexChapter 18 About the Cover Art

The Golden Rule as a method of inquiry into the constitution of self-governing societies as opposed to government-centered societies makes for fascinating and insightful essays that examine the cultural norms and formal rules that facilitate the protection of rights, maintenance of human freedom, and equitable governance of common resources.— John Kincaid, Lafayette College

Given the global conflicts and crises we face, this volume on governance systems could not be more timely, nor the topics covered more relevant. The book is by Vincent Ostrom, his colleagues, and students. Indeed, in many ways, we are all his students. Vincent Ostrom is a pioneer in analysis of the organization, structure, and performance of institutions for collective action. Some arrangements work and some do not. This volume addresses key areas of current concern: violence and political order, legal pluralism, cooperation and trust among groups of different religions, and natural resource stewardship. The chapters draw upon insights from Vincent Ostrom's work to provide fresh, new ways of viewing otherwise seemingly intractable problems. Throughout, there is an underlying optimism that where conditions for collective action are met, human ingenuity and institutional design foster collaboration to address the challenges at hand.— Gary Libecap, University of California, Santa Barbara